Balfour Beatty welcomes the full roll out of the Mates in Mind initiative

12 September 2017

Treating Health like Safety

Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has joined with companies from across the Construction industry to welcome the full roll out of the Mates in Mind initiative.

Mates in Mind, a programme delivered to the UK construction industry with the support of the Health in Construction Leadership Group, has created a flexible and joined-up approach to break the silence and stigma surrounding mental health in society in general and construction in particular. The programme, in partnership with a number of industry representatives and mental health charities such as The British Safety Council, Mind and Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England, promotes a culture of positive wellbeing and provides firms with a tiered training framework to build understanding, knowledge and confidence in tackling mental health throughout businesses.

According to Health and Safety Executive figures, 18% of reported work-related illnesses in the UK construction industry are the result of mental health problems such as stress, depression or anxiety and account for 400,000 working days lost each year*. Further industry data reports that**:

55% of construction workers have experienced mental health issues

42% of construction workers are living with mental health issues at their current workplace

Construction deaths from suicide are also believed to be potentially 10x higher than that of fatal accidents at work

Heather Bryant, UK Health and Safety Director Balfour Beatty, said, “Balfour Beatty strongly welcomes the full roll out of the Mates in Mind programme. This integral programme will ensure a consistent industry-wide approach to tackling the stigma around mental health within our industry.

“The tools and techniques supplied by Mates in Mind is key to dealing with the startling statistics that highlight the evident problem within construction, but also in providing the education to business that is required to provide a supportive and inclusive working environment”.

For details on how to access the training materials and support resources available through Mates in Mind, visit www.matesinmind.org

Balfour Beatty (www.balfourbeatty.com) is a leading international infrastructure group. With 30,000 employees, we provide innovative and efficient infrastructure that underpins our daily lives, supports communities and enables economic growth. We finance, develop, build and maintain complex infrastructure such as transportation, power and utility systems, social and commercial buildings.

Our main geographies are the UK, US and Far East. Over the last 100 years we have created iconic buildings and infrastructure all over the world including the London Olympics’ Aquatic Centre, Hong Kong’s first Zero Carbon building, the National Museum of the Marine Corps in the US and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

Mates in Mind Notes to Editors:

Mates in Mind is a registered charity working in the UK that aims to provide clear information to employers on available support and guidance on mental health, mental illness and mental wellbeing, and how they can address this within their organisations. Mates in Mind looks to make sense of what options and support are available to employers wishing to promote improved mental health within their workforce.

Mates in Mind is a collaboration of core partners including charities: Mind, Samaritans, Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) England and British Safety Council. It is also supported by construction industry affiliates who are championing Mates in Mind, these are: Balfour Beatty; Careys; Eight2O; Galliford Try; Heathrow; Tarmac; Tideway; Sellafield; Willmott Dixon; and Volker Wessels UK. Quotes of support from these organisations are available on request.

Mates in Mind is the result of a Health in Construction Leadership Group summit in 2016 for construction industry CEOs that voted overwhelmingly to improve the mental wellbeing of its workforce. At an event in January 2017, Mates in Mind was launched and the pilot phase was started.

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